There’s still quite a bit to like here, from the strong sense of atmosphere to the layers of a Hitchcockian plot, but this is not a complete movie. And when viewers are laughing at a movie rather than with it, something has gone awry.

The film has more charm than the average romantic comedy, but, when considered from a bare-bones perspective, it follows most of the rules that define the genre.

Tom Jones succeeded in large part because of its wit, its performances, and its energy.

It’s a near-miss that offers a captivating atmosphere and strong performances to go along with an uneven tone and a climax that’s so overcooked that it bursts at the seams with unintentional humor.

An unconventional tale of redemption that earns its upbeat ending by not falling prey to every cliché of the genre or giving in to the temptation to become too maudlin or sentimental.

It's simple and well-told, although nothing about it is breathtakingly original.

Detroit, despite its flaws, is compelling and deeply unsettling. Its thriller and horror elements gain resonance because, at least to some degree, they’re based on real events.

With a smart, perceptive script from first-time director Kelly Fremon Craig and an arresting lead performance by Hailee Steinfeld, the film rises to the top of a crowded genre.

More than any other comic book character outside of Nolan’s Batman, Wolverine has evolved. With his glimpse into what superhero movies can be, James Mangold has given us something sadly lacking in recent genre entries: hope.

It’s a step up from 28 Weeks Later but it remains to be seen whether Nia DaCosta is able to bring this chapter across the finish line.

The stunning Lisa Ray, a Bollywood exile, makes one of the most beautiful widows ever to grace the screen. Vidula Javalgekar gives a memorable turn as the infirm "Auntie." But the real find is Sarala, a Sri Lankan girl who memorized dialogue in a language she does not understand and delivers it with conviction.

An engaging romantic comedy that would have been better if the audience wasn't constantly being distracted by mediocre video quality and jerky camera movements.

An infectious celebration of life and love.

There’s nothing momentous about The Wife but it functions equally effectively as a character-based drama and an allegorical statement about the power dynamic between men and women in pre-21st century marriages.

Visually interesting but offers nothing groundbreaking. The animation is competent but not overwhelming. There's no moment of wonderment.

Career Girls is a wonderful diversion -- expert film making that's all the more effective because it seems so natural and effortless. The movie lacks the grit of Naked and the emotional impact of Secrets and Lies, but, because it effectively transforms two strangers into people worth caring about, Career Girls can be regarded as nothing less than a success.

Although the story is weirdly engaging in its own right, the best parts are the prologue and epilogue.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is tailor made for those who like their gore leavened with thought-provoking ideas - something that is a rarity in this genre.

The final half-hour of Broken Embraces is littered with facile contrivances and plot turns worthy of a soap opera. It's almost mystifying, and more than a little frustrating, to watch a movie cruising at such a high level suddenly suffer a complete breakdown and lose too much altitude.

Writer/director Mangold never compromises the integrity of his painfully-intense script. There isn't one crowd-pleasing moment in the entire movie, except perhaps the last scene, which offers a flicker of hope.

The comedy in The Sure Thing is genial and unforced. Most of it develops organically out of the characters and their situations. It doesn't grate and it doesn't interfere with the evolution of the central relationship, and it's effective enough to provoke the occasional laugh or smile.

The result is a sharp, insightful, charming motion picture.

A workmanlike thriller that provides solid performances; a mixture of comedy, tension, and drama; and an engaging storyline. But there's nothing extraordinary about the movie.

It’s a strong performance of a character worthy of biopic treatment. Dolemite lives!

The vibe, if not the specifics, is highly reminiscent of "The Last Starfighter," "Battlestar Galactica," "Battle Beyond the Stars," and others. The fact that the movie's "present" is defined as being 1988 and the soundtrack is peppered with '70s tunes cements the retro feeling.

Together, Crystal and Ryan really click. Even though their characters are polar opposites (or perhaps because of it), their interaction has a charm and warmth that most motion picture pairings lack.

The acting is uniformly superb.

A bleak, black satire that occasionally strays all the way into "Pulp Fiction" territory.